Part 60: I Need Your Strongest Potions

Update 60: I Need Your Strongest Potions

In This Update:
- Hapless potion sellers!
- Capitalism!
- Reflections on the conflict of man vs. nature!

---

Hello again. Today we're helping a hapless dunderhead not get fired.

Just like usual, really.


We're at best one of out three on the requirements in the ad. I mean, have you ever seen Samuel quaff a potion?


I don't think they'd like to see what Tsing does with potions.


Anyway, this is a pretty straightforward fight. The law is a slight annoyance if you rely on mages for ranged damage.


Two things to note: first, we are massively overleveled. Second, a Fusilier and an Archer are perched on top of the ridge, conveniently out of range of anyone who can't fly.


Here's our team. The Komodo Trader, as he's known, is the Soldier in blue.


He's a bit useless, to put it politely. He means well though!



: See, we've gone and used up every last potion we had... You're from Komodo Potions, aren't you? Think you could spare us some potions? We'd pay of course.



: Well are you going to sell them some potions or what?

: Aaaaaugh! I-is that what they want!? B-But I'm just a little guy! Rank and file! I can't authorize that!



: Aaaaah! If I'd only known this was going to happen...! I could've studied harder, joined a bigger company, somewhere like House Prost!

: What's this guy's problem? Fine, if he won't sell us what we need, we'll take it! Don't worry, we'll leave gil for what we take.

: Hrmm. I see your point... but I can't let you do that.


I mean, with no extra potions left, they'd be taking ones other people had already ordered. And that's illegal!


Anyway, we, uh... we do a lot of damage.


It's important to keep the Komodo Trader safe! Besides being a necessary condition to complete the mission, he also needs all the help he can get.


Fortunately, he is a coward has the good sense to stay out of the way.


Also, there are traps here, as Al-Cid helpfully found out for us.


Frimelda hits so hard that even Adrammelech felt that.


"Aaah I should never have become a bandit" -- this bangaa, probably.


They're trying their best!


They don't manage to attack the Komodo Trader for the rest of that battle, which is good because I forgot to heal him.


Frimelda cuts a guy in half, and Vaan uses his mystical Parivir powers to blow the Fusilier away.


Penelo cleans up the poor Archer with some fancy dance moves. And that's that.



: Th-Thank you! I owe you my gratitude... No! Komodo Potions owes you its gratitude! You really do know how to fight, don't you! I didn't even see you break a sweat! And not a potion was lost, either!

: Hrah! Good to hear. So, have you far to go?

: Oh, it's still quite a way, but I'll be fine on my own! Why, just seeing you in action makes me feel much braver! I'm ready for anything!


And that's the last we see of-- hahaha no.

---


NO!

---


Guess how much of an understatement "scattered along the ground" is.


By the way Clan Sawyer travels, this is only a day's journey away from where we saved him from those bandits.




At least nothing stops us from fighting the monsters. Let's just hope they don't decide to attack the Komodo Trader.


The weather is doing a fine enough job killing him already.

: Oh Celestine... I've f-f-failed you all. Tell Mom I love her!



: That's the trader from Komodo Potions.

: C-C-Clan Sawyer! I'm saved!


There's three of them in this picture!

: Didn't you say you wouldn't be needing any more help? Oh well. We can't just leave you to these monsters. Let's find those potions!




This is your standard "go investigate the shiny spots" mission. Dead simple at this point.


The monsters are actually pretty threatening, if you were to do this quest early. There are two Ice Drakes, plus two flans and a Headless.


On top of that, the potions have been scattered pretty far afield.


And as usual, the monsters like to heal each other.


The Komodo Trader happily stays out of the way.


Ow so dangerous.


Penelo is training up her long-distance punches. Or she throws energy by dancing? Honestly I'm not sure how this works.


Nice.


Vaan shows us once again why Parivir is such a good job. Also, this makes it much easier to get the potion over here.


Everyone else has the monsters in hand, so Cid can focus on the potions instead.


Penelo and Al-Cid kill two more enemies.


And Lian gets the last one.




The last few potions aren't far behind.

: That's all the potions!

: Th-Th-Thank you. You've given this tr-tr-trader back his life. I'm in your--

: It's all right. You're welcome. How much farther do you have to go, anyway?

: It's just a l-l-little further. Don't worry, I don't b-b-be needing any more help. I'll d-d-do it on my own!


And that's the last we see-- no, sorry, I shouldn't make the same joke twice.

---


Ok, to be fair, he did make it all the way up to Moorabella by himself!


We just have to help him make the actual deliveries.




But the sleepy city of Moorabella presents one final wrinkle!


All the doorways are blocked by... representatives of the Badd Potions company?



: All I'm trying to do is deliver my goods to the people who ordered them! Oh, Celestine! I'm really in a fix this time! Tell Mum I love her!



: Komodo Potions has been doing good business of late. Too good. Things keep on like this, and we little potion makers aren't long for this world. So, we're doing a little sabotage. It's a tradition, you know.



: That's right! That'd be fair! Aaaugh. After I made it all this way... I was so close! So close...


Just in case it wasn't clear that the small business owner and proprietor of "Badd Potions" is in fact the bad guy here!

: You clearly can't handle the cut and thrust of the business world, boy. Be off with you!

: Or... maybe we'll take this opportunity to show you just how it works. Time to do some business!

: Looks like the free market needs some assistance. Let's drive these hoodlums off!


I have so many problems with this whole scenario, I don't know where to start.

In another game, this would be a battle between capitalist exploiters and the Teamster's Union, and that would have been hilarious.


Nice.


For once, we don't need to protect the Komodo Trader. But he's so innocent, I want to keep him out of harm's way, you know?


The enemy will try to fight back while not moving from the doors they're blocking. Since they're all ranged units and two of them can hit the whole battlefield with their spells, they don't really need to move.


So bring the fight to them! Ninja Tabi are extremely useful, since +2 movement will easily get you halfway across the battlefield.


Don't let his hat fool you, this guy is actually an Arcanist, making him slightly more dangerous than his peers.


Admittedly, that's not saying much.


But it does mean he's able to easily hit the Komodo Trader... and all his teammates.


I'm not sure if the Komodo Trader will actually try to fight. I didn't give him the chance. I'd rather he stayed innocent.


Better to just let Lian take out the trash.


Talking about Lian, let's show off that Scion we got last update! The Condemner's Choker summons Zeromus, the Esper of Gravity, the Tyrant of Conviction.


The attack, called Big Bang, deals the user's lost HP as damage to a single target.


It's pretty awesome, I'll be honest.



This is probably the one Scion that actually scales well as you get higher in level, since you'll have more HP to lose.


A few turns later, Lian kills the last enemy. High speed and incredible range make him really good at killing things.




: Th-Thank you! Let's see... yes! The potions are sound! Now I can deliver them to our customers!

: You've come a long way. I think this journey was good for you!



: You really think so? Really and truly!? Oh, oh, Celestine! Did you hear that!? I've grown, Celestine! We'll have the party to end all parties when I get home!

: ...Ahem. Thanks for all your help. I've learned so much. I should be able to handle it from here. Don't worry, I won't be needing any more help. I'll do it on my own! For real this time!


Not a bad reward, for when you should be doing this quest line. It's a piece of fairly rare loot used in some powerful items.


Now I can finally say that's the last we see of him!

...Sort of. He shows up in some of the Prima Donna quests, because of course he's a fan. But we've already done all those, I think, so this really is the last time.

Later, he sends us a letter:


Honestly, I like this quest line a lot. The Komodo Trader is funny, his character growth is heartening, and the battles aren't too boring.
I don't remember the last quest being so though, that was unexpected.

---


Up next: we save a tree! For someone named Celestine... who is a sister... and lives in Graszton.




We don't see too many "defeat X enemies," which is a shame, they're kind of fun.


Yes, we're doing this with just two units. But do notice, one of those units is Leed. I'm finally running out of abilities to teach people, so I feel OK using other privileges.




Pretty straightforward, honestly.


So you can probably guess how this will go.


First, if you're doing this mission legitimately, it's a good idea to have two units stand in these places. You lose if the enemy reaches the tree, but they can only reach the tree by standing in these spots.


Also check out how cheap Haste is for Talf. 2 MP! I love how MP Efficiency stacks.


My main battle plan is to abuse Magick Frenzy.


Leed kills all four enemies in one go.


Then we wait a few turns for more enemies to show up...


It looks like they're actually linked, so only two enemies will spawn. You have to defeat them both before the rest will appear.


A few more turns later, three more antlions finally appear.


This time, Talf takes a stab at attacking them. He doesn't quite kill the one on the right.


The final enemy appears, and Leed finishes them off.


That was fun! This is a pretty fun battle if you're at level, since you can use the natural choke points around the tree to set up some strategies.




: Seems as though Celestine's much taller that her brother. What else does it say...?


: Growth spurt? Not enough, apparently.


Harsh, Talf.

Looks like we found our Komodo Trader and his sister! Yes, Calvin is the name of our once-hapless friend, the Komodo Trader. I'm not sure why it switched to "Celine" in the middle there -- maybe she started going by that as a nickname?

---

Protecting that tree put me in the mood to really connect with nature, you know?


And what better way than farming? We're picking up this mission during the month of Coppersun; it's only available a few times per year.


Though of course farming really means protecting the farm from monsters.


Guess how long it takes to break this law!


Unlike other quests, the enemies of this one actually scale up to your level! That's pretty cool, and makes this more of an actual challenge.


Slight mistake here: MP Channeling is better if you think you're going to break the law, because it lets you save up more MP. That is, you still have some benefit after the privilege is lost.



: If these creatures ruin the flowers, there won't be enough left to go to seed.



: All right then. We've got work to do. More monsters may be drawn to the flowers' scent, so keep a sharp watch.


That is, more monsters will spawn in until you've slain 10 of them.


In my opinion, the Dreamhares and Malboros are the most dangerous foes, because they're packing some serious buffs and debuffs.


I'm not sure if Stone is helpful here or not. I mean, obviously it takes an enemy out of combat, but maybe it doesn't count toward goal.


As usual, high-damage attacks and debuffs are your friends. The enemies are a little too spread out to take advantage of AoE attacks, unfortunately.


This Lamia is the 3rd most dangerous enemy.


She can use Twister, which can cut the target's HP in half.


Hurdy tries to reverse the damage, but it doesn't work.


And there's our fresh spawn, another Antlion. There's quite the variety of monsters here, which keeps it interesting.


Of course, right after that one appears, Penelo takes out another one.


Also there's a Green Chocobo up there. Be wary of it, since it can buff the monsters!


Well there goes the law.


It was nice while it lasted.


A second Green Chocobo has appeared!


Once again, just in time for Al-Cid to slay another monster.


So maybe I should have been more wary of the Lamia. Twister hit everyone, which is some unfair odds.


But Penelo and Lian can heal them up to nearly full. It slows us down a little, but we'll be OK.


The reason everyone was grouped up was to let Hurdy grant Hastega on as large a group as possible.


That's what, 3 down? I've lost count.


We start focusing on the Lamia, as I should have done a while ago!


Another Dream Hare spawns in to the south. Slightly out of the way, and it has no way to revive the Malboro, so it's not a huge threat right now.


Good, now we don't have to worry about any Twisters.


Vaan and Penelo take down one of the Chocobo. They had been quite annoying with all the buffs, so this will make things a bit easier.


The other Chocobo had retreated to this corner of the battlefield.


It doesn't last very long!


Down south, Hurdy weakens the Dream Hare and Al-Cid takes it out with an Opportunity Command. Haste really turned this battle in our favor.


A second Malboro spawns in.


Lian deals with it in the appropriate manner.


We still need to kill the two Stoned ones, I think. Another one joins the fun.


It tries to get a few attacks in, but we've already brought it to critical health. Meanwhile, Lian is beating up the stone ones.


Hurdy simplifies things by summoning Hashmal from his Pin of Order and slaying all three at once.


Indeed it is.

: This year's harvest should be a good one.


I hope so! We put a lot of effort into keeping those flowers alive.

---


A few months later, in Ashleaf, we can pick the literal fruits of our labor.


As you can see, the trees we were protecting now bear fruit.


As you know, I am not a fan of this law.


But since the enemies in this fight are based on the average law of the clan, we don't have anything to worry about!


In this battle, we have to pick the fruit from the six trees before the end of the fourth round. The enemies are infinite, so we can ignore them if we want to.


To make it a little easier, I'm taking Regenga so I don't have to worry as much about healing.



: Monsters. Just what we needed. So much for a simple quest.



: We're not here for the monsters. Let's gather the fruit and be done with this.




All the monsters here are pretty dangerous. Your best bet, if you're struggling, is to slap as many conditions on them as you can. Slow, Blind, Stop, Stone... anything that'll stop them from attacking you successfully.


Rushing to the trees to finish the harvest isn't as helpful as you might think, because you still need to survive for 4 rounds. Collecting fruit just improves your final reward.


The enemy spawns are more aggressive this time. We haven't killed anything and already reinforcements are showing up!


An Illusionist is a good unit to bring here. It can hang out in the back, collect the fruit from the top left tree, and smite enemies from afar. But instead, I have Hurdy.


Alright I've said these guys are a bit worrisome but they haven't actually done anything yet.


I didn't bring much in the way of conditions, so wholesale slaughter is my next best option.


It gives Lenolia a chance to stretch her magickal muscles, too.


A few turns later, Cid picks the next tree.


Oh dear. It's about even odds as to which team will be losing a member here.


Sorry, Tsing.


Oh, don't be such a grump, you'll be back in a minute.


Down south, Vaan picks another tree. We're halfway done and it's only the second round, I believe. (I lost track.)


Even better, the numbers are stacking up and the monsters are starting to fall. Cid gets a neat double KO here with Earth Render.


Hurdy finally does something and harvests another tree. Two left!


Lenolia trades the lives of two monsters to bring back Tsing. Despite the resurrection spell (Phoenix) being cast second, he appears when the first spell is cast.


Despite the many deaths, only one new enemy appears. Of course, one should not underestimate a Floating Eye.


Great! All that's left is the tree that Tsing was trying to reach before he died.


Lenolia kills the Baknamy with Ifrit and greatly weakens the Plague and Floating Eye.


I forgot that Floating Eyes pack the Critical: Quicken + Death Dive suicide combo, but Lenolia is fine.


Nice.


The battlefield is clear of enemies, and Tsing is gathering the last of the harvest.


I know they don't want to seriously overwhelm us -- this would be a lot more dangerous if we didn't have all the abilities that we do -- but this trickle of enemies really isn't threatening.


Vaan goes for a bit of flare with the Iai Blow finisher, but it doesn't stick.


Instead, Leed gets it with Magick Frenzy.


And like that, the end of round 4 rolls around and we're done!


For our pains, we earn a piece of rare loot. As far as I know, the reward is determined by how many trees you harvest before the end. The Crusader Tonic is a good reward, since it can be traded for rare equipment like Excalibur or the Orb of Minwu.


But we already have plenty of those, so whatever.

These were a fun couple of quests, and they feel fresh since the enemies match our level.

---

One last quest before we go!


Ezel really needs a lot of ether, huh?


You know the drill by now.

: Let's see... "To the clan who accepted my quest. Urgent business has called me away. I travel to the norther reaches of the Strait of Lumes. I still require the delivery be made on time. Ezel Berbier."

: The Strait of Lumes separates Ordalia and Lore. I wonder which side of the strait he's on, though...


Well, he's not on the Ordalia side.


So let's fly across the strait.


Here he is! Seems he likes the secrete places in the world, doesn't he.

: Sorry about changing the meeting place on you at the last minute. Probably used to it by now, though. On ancient maps, a peninsula once extended northward here. The region was called Zellea. It never snowed there because of the Mist. An oasis of green in the norther wastes.

: And now it's the Forbidden Land... Oh, before I forget, here's the ether you asked for.



: Ah, yes. Thank you. I think I may explore the area a while longer. So long, Samuel.

---

Thank you for reading! We've now completed 250 quests. Just 50 left!

For the next update, vote for 1 of the following quest lines:

1. We should see about the battle brewing in the Rupie Mountains.
2. Someone's asking about Lethean Draught, and we should investigate.
3. Let's answer the Ivalice equivalent of Craigslist job postings!